The Red Mansion Big Liar

After all, if the matter gets out of hand, the emperor might consider the overall situation and push him out as a scapegoat to appease public anger.

Therefore, in addition to the arrangements made by King Qin and others, he also needed to make some preparations on his own.

Fortunately, he got the news in advance, knew the whole story, and knew where the key point of the problem lay.

Regardless of whether the main contradiction can be directed to the emperor's practice of Taoism, the most important thing is to make the emperor believe that the statements of the immortals before him are indeed credible.

Guano has been questioned, and white sugar and glass are not shocking enough.

After much thought, only the iron ship and iron horses could make the emperor so astonished.

Fortunately, when the emperor knew he was going to celebrate his birthday, he made preparations for both scenarios, and the research and development of the steam engine had already produced results.

Originally, he was planning to make some improvements before launching it, but now he has no choice but to rush it into production.

Due to time constraints, they only had time to add two simple carriages to make a simple old steam locomotive to get by.

As for the iron ship, it depends on the situation. Although it is just a show and there is no need to consider durability, it may not be built in time.

Therefore, it is just an alternative to add icing on the cake.

He even had a better idea. He considered whether to make an iron cylinder that could float and dive to serve as a simple submarine.

In this way, as long as the memorial from Jiangnan is shown to the emperor before it is delivered to the capital, it will probably be foolproof.

Because he had to take charge of the Tiangong Academy, he had to temporarily put aside his teaching work in Taoism. He did not return to the hot spring villa outside the city, but only sent someone to deliver a letter outside the city.

He said nothing about what happened in Jiangnan.

Firstly, if something really happened, the family members would not be able to escape even if they wanted to.

Secondly, how can the eggs remain intact when the nest is overturned?

Even in times of peace in ancient times, there were bandits and road bullies. It was dangerous to run around, so it was better to stay. Even if something really happened to you, the Emperor and the King of Qin might still take care of you out of their old friendship.

……

While Zhang Yun逸 was preparing to respond, Mei Lian in Jiangnan was also not idle.

A garden was packed with people.

Because he was ambitious, after more than ten days of communication, he had summoned many gentry and scholars to discuss the details of the joint petition.

"Mei Hanlin is upright and honest, and has a good reputation. He is also an imperial envoy of the Imperial Household. You are the most suitable person to submit the letter."

"What virtue and ability do I have?" Mei Lian said with a haughty expression, stroking his beard with his hand, "All the fellow villagers are highly respected, and most of them are from famous families... There are also many seniors who have retired and returned to their hometowns..."

"Sir, why are you being so modest? After all, we are the victims, but you are here on orders, and you are an official of the Tiangong Academy. It is only when you write a letter that you appear selfless!"

"That's right! He would rather break than bend. What kind of person is that? It's a pity that the thief Zhang is unworthy of being a son. The bird droppings he made harm the people. He also tried to please the emperor with sugar and glass, competing with the people for profit. Your Excellency dared to speak out directly. He is truly a model for the court!"

"Then I'd be disrespectful to refuse it!" Mei Lian said with a smile.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Your Excellency is so righteous! That thief Zhang used the magic to deceive the emperor. If you can correct the chaos and persuade the emperor not to indulge in it and harm the country, you will be remembered in history!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted a lot of agreement.

"The emperor is obsessed with cultivating immortals and has not been involved in state affairs for more than ten years. As scholars, if we cannot speak out and make direct criticisms, wouldn't it be a waste of all the years of studying the books of sages?"

"I've heard for a long time that Mei Hanlin is upright and never associates with such scoundrels..."

Several prestigious country gentlemen standing in the front row looked at each other with grim expressions when they saw the excitement among the crowd below.

They said in unison: "No!"

"Why not? As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. If we can't correct the root of the chaos, even if Zhang Yunyi is gone, there's still Li Yunyi..."

"That's right! You were deceived by that thief before, and now you are suffering from the bird droppings. Don't you want to turn back?"

"That's right! Are you trying to excuse the thief Zhang?"

The effectiveness of this bird droppings has been proven, so naturally it should be used by our own people first.

However, the spread of the disease caused it to affect the people and expanded the impact.

"Now that the Hanlin scholar has raised his arm and called for action, we, the scholars in Jiangnan, will follow your lead. Why should we worry about not achieving great things?"

"Someone! Bring me some paper and pen!" Seeing such a big commotion, Mei Lian couldn't help but feel angry and said in a loud voice, "Since you all trust me, I will risk my life to make a direct appeal even if my blood is splattered five steps away!"

"The law does not hold everyone responsible. We are willing to sign our names together with you, sir, and we will not let you bear the responsibility alone!"

Mei Lian had not been in Jiangnan for long, so he could only talk nonsense, as he was not yet aware of the smuggling of guano by the wealthy families in Jiangnan.

Although the country gentlemen in the front row were worried, they were more worried that their smuggling of guano would be exposed.

Seeing the huge momentum and feeling that the law could not hold everyone responsible, he gritted his teeth and signed the memorial.

In less than a month, his joint memorial spread throughout the entire Jiangnan area.

For a time, many people came to enjoy the scenery.

On that day, a large number of students gathered in front of the Zhejiang Provincial Education Commissioner's Office and rushed into the office shouting.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Zheng hurried to the hall.

Without waiting for him to appease them, the leading student said righteously, "Sir! Now that the students in Jiangnan have united their efforts, and Mei Hanlin has already submitted a petition, as the academician, you should do your part!"

"That's right! You are a descendant of the Rongguo Mansion. How can you sit back and watch after the founding of the country?"

"The duty of the academic official is to educate people, how can he just sit there and do nothing?"

"That's right! I heard that the villain Zhang Yunyi is the junior of the academician. If the adult comes forward, it will not only add momentum, but also be more convincing!"

"Your Excellency is able to sacrifice your own relatives for the sake of justice. You will surely be remembered in history as a good story!"

Jia Zheng originally had an awkward look on his face, but when he heard everyone talking about how their names would go down in history and how good stories would be passed down, he couldn't help but feel his heart beating fast.

"Everyone please listen to me!"

He took a deep breath, raised his hands, pressed them down, and said confidently: "I have read many books of sages, how could I turn a blind eye? To be honest, as early as when I was in the capital, I had some complaints about this kind of strange and lewd skills. That's why I asked the emperor to send me out of town, so that out of sight, out of mind!

Now that the general trend is unstoppable, how can I turn a blind eye? Long before you came here, the memorial had already been sent out!"

"Your Excellency is so noble and upright that the students really admire you!"

"Alright! Go back and wait for good news!"

After sending away all the students, Jia Zheng hurried back to the back hall, took out the memorial, wrote it quickly, and sent someone to deliver it to the capital.

He thought to himself that with all this going on, there was no way Zhang Yunyi would be spared, so if that was the case, he wouldn't make any difference.

However, if the students forced the emperor to abdicate, it would be better to lie and claim that they had already submitted a memorial.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 415 Proceed with caution

"Master! The other day I sent some peaches over, and the concubine tried to test me in a roundabout way! Why not strike while the iron is hot and use the opportunity of the full moon banquet... Why change it to a hundred-day banquet?"

Recently, Zhang Yun逸 has not been out of the city. There is only one maid named Jinchuan in the mansion. Except for occasionally staying overnight at Wang Xifeng's house, he is mostly served by Jinchuan, which makes her very happy.

She was unaware of the impending storm outside.

She thought it was Zhang Yunyi's reward to her and took it more seriously.

Zhang Yunyi took two mouthfuls of porridge and said casually, "I have to finish my confinement before I can come back, otherwise they will be caught in the wind on the way and miss the full moon banquet, which is not good!"

It was a turbulent time and he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble. He planned that things would be settled after a hundred days.

Because a boy's full-month banquet is usually held one day earlier and a girl's one day later, Zhang Yun逸 changed it to a hundred-day banquet on the grounds that Youshi had not completed her confinement.

As he was talking, he suddenly heard someone outside report: "Master! Master Xiaorong is here!"

What is he here to do?

Did you hear some rumors?

Zhang Yunyi thought so in his heart, waved his hand and said: "Got it, tell him to wait in front."

Suspecting that Jia Rong had heard the rumors, he deliberately left him alone.

This kid is a venomous snake. The more times like this, the more we need to be on guard, lest he thinks he has an opportunity and bites back.

After finishing his breakfast leisurely, he moved to the front hall.

"Uncle Yi!"

Seeing Jia Rong nodding and bowing with a smile on his face, Zhang Yunyi could not see anything unusual, so he joked: "It's strange today, why did you get up so early? Didn't you go out to fool around last night?"

Jia Rong said flatteringly, "Uncle Yi really understands my nephew. He was indeed fooling around last night!"

At this point, he changed the subject and said, "However, I have always kept Uncle Yi's instructions in mind. I dare not delay for a moment. I did not dare to close my eyes last night and came to report to Uncle Yi early in the morning!"

"What's the matter?" Zhang Yunyi asked puzzledly.

"Uncle Yi, have you forgotten? You told me to keep an eye on Uncle Xue. Yesterday, I was drinking with him outside and heard that something happened in his shop. Thanks to Uncle Yi's face, Shuntian Prefecture let him off the hook!"

"Hmm?" Zhang Yunyi was stunned when he heard that. He cursed in his heart, but said calmly, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

"I heard that the Xue family's shop sold fake ginseng, and someone discovered it and reported it to Shuntian Prefecture..."

"No one was killed, right?"

"That's not the case, but we found two fake ginsengs in the shop, and a few that had lost their medicinal properties, which confirmed the charges!"

"Okay, I get it, just keep watching!"

He didn't expect that the Xue family would actually sell fake ginseng.

I couldn't help but feel fortunate that I didn't have any deep entanglement with the Xue family.

If it had happened under normal circumstances and nothing serious had happened, he wouldn't mind using this as a threat to force the Xue family to submit.

But now is a time of turmoil, and we must not lose the big picture for the sake of small gains.

After getting on the carriage, he gave some instructions to Xier and headed straight for Shuntian Prefecture.

Shuntian Prefecture Governor Li Mingyuan came out from the hall and said, "Master Zhang! What brings you here?"

"Mr. Li, you are too polite!" Zhang Yunyi bowed slightly and got straight to the point, "I heard that your mansion has recently received a case involving fake ginseng?"

Li Mingyuan smiled and said, "It's just a piece of cake, why do you have to make a trip in person?"

Zhang Yunyi did not argue and said directly: "Ginseng is a life-saving thing. It is related to human life, so we should be cautious!"

"This..." Li Mingyuan didn't expect that his flattery would hit the horse's leg. He asked in confusion, "Then the Xue family... doesn't it have some relationship with you, sir?"

"Friendship is friendship, duty is duty. We are deeply blessed by the emperor, how can we bend the law for personal gain? I also heard about this matter, and came here to ask Lord Zhang to deal with it impartially."

Although he didn't say hello, but when the wall falls, everyone pushes it; when the drum is broken, everyone beats it. There's no guarantee that someone won't take advantage of the situation to make trouble, so it's better to be cautious.

Li Mingyuan was confused for a moment and tried to probe: "This matter is quite strange. I heard that the Xue family is an imperial merchant. I think they are not short of this little money. It may be that the clerk is deceiving his superiors and hiding the truth from his subordinates. Why don't we arrest the clerk and ask him first?"

What Li Mingyuan said makes sense.

The Xue family was originally a royal merchant family. Although this was a bit exaggerated, although they cut off the caustic soda business, they added two new sources of income: sugar and glass.

There is no way he would be so foolish as to be attracted by the small profit from selling fake ginseng.

If it is true that the guy is deceiving his superiors and hiding the truth from his subordinates, we should not wrongly accuse a good person.

Zhang Yunyi nodded and said, "Yes! Remember to handle this impartially and don't give anyone a chance to criticize you!"

After leaving Shuntian Prefecture, he came to Tiangongyuan.

Still a little worried, he asked Xier to call Zhang Dehui over.

After explaining the matter in general, he instructed: "Go and ask the shopkeeper who is familiar with the Xue family what the fake ginseng is about."

Although the words have been said bluntly enough, there is no guarantee that Shuntian Prefecture will not make a false confession in order to please himself.

As an elder of the Xue family, it was convenient for Zhang Dehui to inquire about these matters, and he could also verify them with Shuntian Prefecture to avoid listening to one side only and giving others a handle on him.

After the arrangements were completed, Gu Wenhui walked into the duty room.

After closing the door, he whispered, "Sir! His Highness has sent a message that the memorial from Jiangnan will be delivered to the capital in a few days, and we are also making the next plan."

It was Mei Lian who was being too clever. In order to build up momentum, the memorial was not delivered to the capital at full speed. Instead, it was paraded through the streets, escorted by a group of senior students.

It was half a month later than Gu Dashou had originally estimated, which gave Zhang Yunyi ample time to prepare.

However, time was still a bit tight. The iron ship had not yet been completed, but the simple train had been completed for some time, and they even found time to cast a batch of rails.

Fearing that the emperor's enthusiasm had worn off, Zhang Yun逸 remained patient and waited until the memorial arrived in Beijing.